Displays of various types have become widespread. The capability of existing display technology to display high quality images is improving. There is still a need for practical and cost effective display technology.
Dynamic range is the ratio of intensity of the highest luminance parts of a scene and the lowest luminance parts of a scene. For example, the image projected by a video projection system may have a maximum dynamic range of 300:1. The human visual system is capable of recognizing features in scenes which have very high dynamic ranges. For example, a person can look into the shadows of an unlit garage on a brightly sunlit day and see details of objects in the shadows even though the luminance in adjacent sunlit areas may be thousands of times greater than the luminance in the shadows. To create a realistic rendering of such scenes can require a display having a dynamic range in excess of 1000:1.
Modern digital imaging systems are capable of capturing and recording digital representations of scenes in which the dynamic range of the scene is preserved. Computer imaging systems are capable of synthesizing images having high dynamic ranges. There exists a need for cost effective displays capable of reproducing a wide range of light intensities in displayed images.